Page 39 of Phoenix Falling
She meant girlfriend in the “friend who’s a girl” sense, right? I typed a quick text asking about the movie instead of demanding to know if she was seeing anyone but me, no matter the gender.
Rissa: Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She absolutely kicks ass.
I frowned. What was it with humans and their fascination with vampire movies? I didn’t get it. Especially not that one.
Sun: Totally unbelievable. Like top ten worst, Rissa. What are you thinking?
Rissa: That it’s hilarious. You do understand that the woman is usually the victim, but in this movie, despite it being a comedy, she’s the one who overcomes the monster?
Yes, I got it. That didn’t mean I liked it.
Rissa: Or maybe you just don’t have any sense of humor.
Of course I had a sense of humor. And then I looked around the room—the king’s study—and thought about my life and realized maybe she was right.
Sun: I’m not answering that.
And then I added several emojis just to prove I wasn’t some old fogey. Did old fogeys add emojis to prove they weren’t old fogeys?
Forget it. I probably was an old fogey. In fact, old fogeys were probably the only ones who used the phraseold fogey.
Sun: I wish you were hanging out with me.
I held my breath as the bouncy dots did their little dance.
Rissa: I do too.
More bouncy dots told me she was typing something else, or maybe typing and deleting something else, but what finally came through was:
Rissa: Any chance I can see you soon?
The sense of relief that washed through me was ridiculous. I was a king now, for God’s sake. I was mooning over a human, and that was barely forgivable in my world. But the need to see her, to hold her, kiss her…
I reached down to adjust myself.
Sun: I really hope so. Soon. Some things have come up at…
What did I call it?
Sun: Work. But I’m hoping to get away soon.
Soonwas as ambiguous as it got, but it was the best I had. It could be tomorrow, it could be a month from now, but if I had to keep the connection through text until I could actually see Rissa face-to-face again, then I would do it. I would do anything to make sure she didn’t forget me.
The door opened behind me. With my back turned, I typed a quick goodbye to Rissa and put my phone away. When I faced the door, James was coming in, his figure tall and strong despite the white hair on his head. Most shifters did not go white until their last few years, but James showed no sign of slowing down in the least.
A younger psych entered seconds later, escorted by Grim—average height, rounded figure, with dark eyes that seemed to take in everything around her and still hide the mysteries of the world in their depths. Nala was a gifted empath, the reason she had chosen to take on the task of living in the human world long enough to gain her doctorate. Though many scoffed at human education, she believed there was true value in learning to help her people work through emotional and mental issues when many of them valued only the physical.
Her insights could be effective in detecting trouble before it cropped up, as well, like it had been in this instance. I made a mental note to discuss with Grim where else Nala might help us as I watched James turn to the young psych and greet her.
He held out his hand. “Nala, it is a pleasure to formally meet you.”
Nala smiled, her rounded cheeks giving her a slightly cherubic look. Why did so many of our people look so damn young?
“And you, James. Thank you for volunteering.” She shook his hand, continuing to speak. “While males shouldn’t need the validation of another male to do what’s right, I have found that, in the long run, it saves a lot of time if I simply start with the assumption that they do.”
James laughed. “Of course. We are hardheaded.”
I cleared my throat, not because I had some insatiable need to be the center of attention, but so I could get this meeting going and over with. Maybe if it went fast enough, I could sneak a few hours with Rissa later. “I wanted to bring the two of you together to discuss what we need to do for the upcoming classes.” I shot Grim a sour look. “Apparently we need to start sooner than we thought, given a certain situation that has arisen.”
